Guardian Angels will tend to cities of Youngstown, Warren

While the presence in the Ma- honing Valley of members of an international crime-watch organization should provide residents of Youngstown and Warren with a certain sense of security, it is discouraging that the region’s two largest communities are still having to deal with crime — 30 years after the Guardian Angels first arrived on the scene.

Perhaps this time around, Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Angels, can provide area law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice systems with some insight into crime-fighting initiatives in other parts of the country and the world.

In 1981, when he came to set up a chapter in Youngstown, the Guardian Angels was only two years old. Since then, the organization has established chapters or has a presence in Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Savannah, Seattle, York, Pa., Cleveland and New Castle, London, Toronto, Tokyo, Cape Town and Auckland, Recently, the organization established chapters in smaller cities such as the Springfield and Brockton, Mass., Sacramento and Stockton, Calif., and Portland, Maine.

In 1981, the Angels were not welcomed with open arms by then Youngstown Police Chief Stanley Peterson and the city administration, but after a while, as community acceptance grew, City Hall softened its stance. Law enforcement types realized that having so many more eyes and ears on the streets not only acted as a deterrence, but also provided important information about criminals and crimes.

Unfortunately, the Youngstown chapter fizzled after about two years — and crime continued to plague the community. Several years ago, Youngstown had the highest per capita homicide rate in the nation.

And while last year’s crime statistics in Youngstown and Warren showed a decline in homicides and robberies, there still is a lot going on in the neighborhoods that cause residents to worry about their safety. Neither city has enough police officers or fire power — even with help from federal and state agencies — to tackle the problem. And while neighborhood crime watch groups do serve a purpose, they do not make citizens arrests, as members of the Guardian Angels do.

Recruiting

Working in conjunction with the local police departments and local governments, the Angels will establish a Youngstown/Warren chapter, recruit and train members in self-defense and conditioning and teach them the legalities of what citizens are permitted to do. Finally, recruits will be trained in CPR and First Aid.

“We believe because of cutbacks in public safety budgets, many departments will be willing to work with us,” Sliwa said last week, as he announced that members from chapters in New Castle and Cleveland will be on patrol this weekend, while the local chapter is being formed.

Sliwa returned to the Valley in response to the recent murder of 25-year-old Jamail E. Johnson, a Youngstown State University student, and the shooting of 11 others, including six YSU students. The attack took place at a house off campus during a party in early hours of Feb. 6. A week later, Sliwa and members of the Angels patrolled the area in the city’s North Side near the site of the shootings.